I am not going to pretend that ALICE is perfect just the way it is/was. Just like anything designed to be used by man, it struggled to appease everyone. For the civilians out there, like myself, ALICE is a design that can be very beneficial to our needs even if the military gave it up over a decade ago. Whether it is for airsoft, LARPing, or prepping as a militia force, ALICE can still help kick some serious ass. Realistically, ALICE is the O.G. battle belt system, so with a few low budget upgrades, I am sure you will appreciate what it can do for you.
POUCH SETUP IS ESSENTIAL
Not too much and not too little is the idea with the ALICE LBE system. I have seen people absolutely load down the ALICE LBE system, which of course is beyond what it was designed for. You have to understand that the LBE system was designed to carry your FIGHTING load, not your every single thing load. To stay true to the design, stick to the basics of water, ammo, IFAK, and mission essential items. I have found that the British idea of keeping the pouches on the hip is the best way to go. This keeps the front clear for good low prone movement, but also doesn’t impede leg movement. Also remember that belt systems are very dependent on symmetry in weight distribution.
I put my ammo pouches on my hips for ease of access. My primary fighting load of 180rds of 5.56 is always on my support (LEFT) side hip while an identical backup load is on my shooting (RIGHT) side hip. The ammo here alone weighs 12lb, which necessitates placing it in a good load bearing area, such as the hips. The canteens are typically right where my Kidneys are, and they weight about 2lb each. I stuff my camouflage paint under my primary canteen so I can touch up easily, and I put an extra roll of sterile gauze under my emergency canteen…just in case. Then I have the IFAK, and other mission or contingency items like a couple of visible and IR chemlights, electrical tape, and 30’ of 550 cord. I usually put all the other stuff in a SAW pouch, which is low profile and allows easy access to the IFAK in an emergency. All of the remaining items are very lightweight and barely creep above 2 pounds all together. All together this system is quite efficient and pretty low weight until people get the idea to slap on plates and a pistol. I am not against having a pistol, but I will advise you to replace an ammo pouch with the holster, if you are dead set on having that pistol.
No matter how you choose to arrange your pouches, you will have to mind the basic principles of symmetrical weight distribution and only adding essentials. All your other fun ‘just in case’ gear can go into a pack. The fighting load I have is setup for recon patrols where you would need a good amount of ammo to sustain you in a gunfight since you’re typically outnumbered and outgunned and won't necessarily have all that much time to get into your pack to grab more mags. Some people may feel the need to add a pistol and several mags on top of the rifle loadout for a recon patrol. That is an option, depending on the area you are doing recon in. Just make sure you follow the basics and you should be fine.
DITCH THE METAL HOOKS
The ALICE LBE suspenders come standard with clamping metal hooks. They work out fine for the most part but they do add noise, weight, and they decrease the flexibility of the system. Not to mention that the clamps end up wearing out over time and get caught on things such as clothing and brush. I recommend taking some bolt cutters and chopping them off as soon as you get a chance. I replaced mine with 550 cord by taking out the inner strings and threading it through the hole in the suspenders that were once occupied by the metal hooks. Once you thread the 550 cord through, I recommend taking advantage of this change and using it to double the contact points the suspenders have with your gear.
For my gear, each front strap threads into the eyelets on the ammo pouches, preventing sagging at the hip and enabling the strap to ride along the 550 cord as I bend my torso. The rear straps each have two points of contact that almost completely support the weight of the canteens and the SAW pouch in back. These straps are also able to ride along the 550 cord in order to afford me unimpeded torso flexibility. This is an inexpensive upgrade that really can’t be matched by some high dollar widget. Sometimes, good old cheap 550 cord can make the difference between good and terrible gear.
PAD THE BELT
Without a pad between your belt and your body, the ALICE clips have free rein to poke and prod you and snag on clothing, gear, brush, etc. There are pads you can get for ALICE pistol belts, but they cost a good amount. Why not go the affordable route and use a good old foam sleeping mat and 550 cord? Simply cut out a chunk of foam twice as wide as the pistol belt, and secure it with gutted 550 cord. My recommendation is to adjust the belt length a tad in anticipation of the padding.
When you are ready, simply line up the mat for equal spacing on each side of the belt. Use a nail to punch holes through the top and bottom eyelets of the belt and through the foam mat, and use a sharpie to mark the holes you made. This will show where you need to thread in the 550 cord since these foam mats tend to hide holes well. Do this in at least 4 places to ensure that the mat and the belt move as one and there are no loose/unsupported sections. Next, thread the 550 cord through the marked holes in the mat and thread them through the matching eyelets. Finally, tie off the ends of the 550 cord and leave little slack which can cause bouncing of the belt. Once this is done, your work is complete. If done properly, the pad will add a good amount of comfort over letting the ALICE clips poking you every which way and snag on stuff indiscriminately.
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GET A DUMP POUCH
One of the oldest techniques for empty mags was to stuff them down your shirt. There were other methods that people used such as tying 550 cord to the mags and then using a carabiner to dangle the empties off an ammo pouch grenade sling. I remember being told to take a T-shirt, tie the sleeves to the grenade slings, and then tie or sew the bottom of the shirt shut. You would simply drop the empty or partial mags through the neck hole. Pretty slick for the O.G. tactical guys that spearheaded skull fucking with ALICE. I recommend just getting a Condor dump pouch. I recommend cutting off the elastic band that likes to snag on stuff and never gets used. The Velcro and button loops can be put on the grenade slings and positioned right under the fighting load mags on the support side. This is an intuitive area and this is a definite upgrade over having to figure out what to do with the mags once they are spent.
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I remember in boot camp having to practice putting the spent mag back in the ALICE mag pouch before getting the fresh one out. Insane to do something like that in reality, but it forced coordination under pressure. If you finished last, there was a hazing in store for you. Later in boot camp we were given the worn out LBV88E vests, which was definitely an effective way to carry ammo.
GET AN LBV88E
I just took a walk down memory lane and discussed this, I know. I am not a nostalgic person, but the LBV88E has a special place in my heart. I used it in boot camp and found it to be intuitive and quite functional in all positions, even with body armor on. It was developed when the military was starting to experiment with moving away from the belt system being the exclusive fighting system. The idea was to start using the torso to store some of the load for troops. The LBV88E is the result of the original LBV88 being tested by SF and returned with notes on how to get it to be truly functional. I personally think this is the best way to carry ammo on your torso without overdoing it. I get that people also want to add body armor and a dip can pouch, but you can’t load the torso with shit without consequences. I personally think that the LBV88E is a great addition to the ALICE system if you seriously feel that you absolutely must have more ammo, or just ammo on your torso. Of course, you are going to have to arrange your pouches to accommodate the straps that secure the LBV88E to your pistol belt. This is an optional augmentation to your LBE system, if you can/want to go through with it.
PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE
There is no use in making upgrades, modifications, or whatever else you want to do if you aren’t going to practice. You can’t buy your way out of having to practice. People treat MOLLE like it is going to make their life easier by allowing them to put everything on their beer belly. That is like saying a $500 baseball glove is going to make you a better pitcher without even practicing. The result of this idea is back injuries and performance that is still as shitty as it was before. Don’t be that guy.
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